Growing up has never been without challenges, and today's young people face additional pressures from an increasingly connected digital world. While many navigate these successfully, others may need extra support.

We are committed to helping students build resilience, manage difficulties and maintain positive wellbeing. Although we cannot remove every challenge that life presents, we work proactively to equip young people with the confidence, skills and support they need to thrive.

School staff are not mental health professionals, but we play an important role in promoting wellbeing, providing support where appropriate, and helping students and families access specialist services when needed.

Our aim is to balance students' immediate wellbeing with their long-term academic and personal development, recognising that both are essential to future happiness and success.

Some students may require more targeted support to overcome barriers affecting their wellbeing. While school staff are not mental health professionals, we are well placed to provide significant support within the context of a school setting.

Our Deputy Headteacher, Lottie Hearn, is the school's Mental Health Lead and coordinates wellbeing provision across the school. Mrs Hearn qualified as our Mental Health Lead before central funding was withdrawn and whilst the Department for Education still quality-assured this accreditation.

A key part of our support offer is the HOPE Mentoring Programme, a structured, evidence-informed approach to mentoring young people. All members of our Student Support Team are trained in this model, enabling them to provide consistent and effective guidance.

You can read more about how we support school attendance here.

We also work closely with a range of external partners to provide additional mentoring and counselling during the school day. These include Co-op Academy Mentoring, Purple Stag Counselling, Bridge Outreach and Bridge Builders.

One example of this partnership work is our long-standing collaboration with the local Mental Health Support Team (MHST). Education Mental Health Practitioners from Lichfield MHST work in school each week, providing low-intensity cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions for students and running drop-in sessions for parents.

From September 2026, MHST colleagues will also help students develop their understanding of mental health through assemblies, drop-in sessions and our new Student Wellbeing Ambassador programme. Our primary practitioner is Samantha Lewis.

Where necessary, we work with external agencies to provide specialist support tailored to individual students' needs.

This includes services such as CAMHS and the School Nursing Team, alongside targeted interventions addressing issues including bereavement, domestic abuse, substance misuse and other specific challenges.

These interventions are most effective when supported by parents and carers and are often delivered as part of a coordinated, multi-agency package of support, informed by individual support plans and risk assessments where appropriate.